Naval, Military and Civil Representatives of Many Different Nationalities Attend Funeral "WE are all comrades fighting on a common front:" An Italian officer, spick and span in his smart full dress uniform, whispered this remark to his next door neighbour as the mournful strains of Chopin's "Funeral March" were heard drawing nearer to the Bubbling Well Cemetery yesterday afternoon. It seemed to signify the spirit in which military and naval representatives of all the Shanghai defence forces, except the Japanese, paraded together to do homage to a British soldier, Rifleman W. McGowan, who met his death on Sunday through a plane attack upon a British military post in Keswick Road.
The funeral was one of the most impressive that Shanghai has ever seen. It is seldom that so many military, naval and civil representatives have met together in this city to attend the burial of a foreign service man. The pathway through the, cemetery was lined with a varied display of uniforms, cocked hats,-gold braid and shining swords being conspicuous among uniforms of khaki and blue, At 330 pin, the various units began to take up their positions on the path along which the funeral procession was to pass. Shoulder to shoulder stood the international brigade, consisting of men from the three British battalions stationed in Shanghai, and the Royal Army Service Corps, sailors from HMS. Cumberland, American marines of comrades of the dead man, Meanwhile, the detachments lining the main pathway had formed around the grave, and stood to attention as e Roman Catholic burial service was performed by the Rev. Nicholas Cody, himself an Irishman, and officiating Catholic chaplain to the British forces, The firing party leaned on their rifles as the ceremony was performed, with incense swung to and fro, and holy water sprinkled on the coffin. Overhead, breaking the stillness among "hose surrounding the grave, there roared three Japanese planes, on their way to carry out bombing operations.
The firing party presented arms, and officers saluted, as ten buglers the Second Brigade, American sailors from the U.SS. Augusta, Italian sailors from the Montecuccoli, and a detachment of Savoy Grenadiers in their distinctive uniforms and steel helmets, French sailors from the Lamotte Picquet, and French troops, SMP. regular police, including foreigners, Chinese and Sihks, and a detachment of SMP. Specials, Netherlands marines from the Van Galen, and a platoon from the Russian Regiment, S.V.C.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.